


Handprints

by GraceRB



Series: The Profound Bond [3]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Fluffy, Implied Top Castiel, Kissing, M/M, Nightmares, Sam Winchester is traumatized, gentle touching, sort of non-con, the handprint
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-24
Updated: 2021-02-24
Packaged: 2021-03-15 12:29:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,268
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29683995
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GraceRB/pseuds/GraceRB
Summary: Dean has nightmares of Hell. Somehow Castiel helps, just by touching him.
Relationships: Castiel/Dean Winchester
Series: The Profound Bond [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2170305
Comments: 4
Kudos: 56





	Handprints

**Author's Note:**

> I put non-con in the tags only because Dean doesn't really understand what is happening and he never verbally gives consent to it -- but it's not rape or anything bad like that. It's quite literally just touching Dean's forehead/face or arms.

Ever since Dean got pulled out of Hell, he's had nightmares. About the blood, the pain, and the screaming that never ended. He curled in on himself and clenched his fists into the sheets. He let out a small whimper that woke Sam immediately. He pushed the blankets off, but Castiel was there with one hand stretched out in a warning. 

_ Stay _ , it said. So Sam stayed, and watched as Castiel walked around his bed to Dean's. He sat on the edge of the mattress and placed a palm on Dean's forehead, threading his fingers into Dean's hair. "Go back to sleep, Sam."

Sam turned away, and wondered why Castiel was here for only a nightmare. He closed his eyes and went back into a shallow sleep.

Castiel sat by Dean's side. His eyes glowed blue, and he dove into Dean's mind to fight off all of the pain and blood and demons. He whispered into Dean's ear, some in Enochian and some in English, "It's alright, Dean, I'm here. Hell is long behind you, forget that pain."

Dean's eyes fluttered open and he witnessed an angel of the Lord, looking down at him. He grabbed the wrist attached to the hand resting on his forehead. "Cas?" He asked quietly, not really needing to say anything more.

"You were dreaming," He replied simply. "You're alright."

Dean felt a sense of peace, some kind of bliss he'd only felt in one other way before. The feeling washed over him, and the warm hand left his head. Dean still held onto the wrist and tried to keep the hand down. "Cas," Fingertips brushed against his hairline, and the blissful feeling came back. "What are you doing to me?"

"Trying to give you peace," He said quietly.

Dean's grip on Castiel's wrist loosened, and the angel's fingertips drew a line down Dean's nose and lips. They rested there, with two fingers on the seam between his lips, and two fingers on the chin below. Dean closed his eyes again, "Cas," He murmured against the fingertips. He felt butterflies in his stomach, and was sure he must be dreaming. "What are you doing to me?" His voice was more hushed than before.

Then the fingers were gone, leaving tingly trails of heat behind, and Dean fell back into a dreamless sleep.

The next thing he felt was a hand on his shoulder, and Sam, "Hey, wake up, we have to go."

Dean only grunted in response, "Get offa me."

He sat up though, when he smelled glorious coffee. He rubbed his eyes, and Sam smiled. "I knew you would want some."

"Shut up, Sam," Dean grumbled, but when Sam handed him a coffee cup, he gladly accepted it. After he took a few sips, he rubbed his eyes again and got out of bed. "Hey, was Cas here?"

Sam's eyes darted around, and then he sipped gingerly from his own cup. "What do you remember?"

Dean shrugged. "I dunno, he was touching my face for some reason." He didn't mention the blissful feeling -- in hindsight it felt kind of... gay. Not that that was a bad thing -- Dean just wasn't used to it. Or aware he even leaned that way at all.

"You were having bad nightmares last night," Sam conceded. "He came and helped you, I guess. He was here all night."

"All night?" Dean's eyes flickered away from his brother and towards the floor, where he thought Cas must have been the night before. He was thinking,  _ all night? He stayed with me all night for no apparent reason?  _ He secretly enjoyed that idea.

"Yeah. It was sorta weird, man."

"I think you're just jealous," Dean quipped. Sam rolled his eyes and drank from his coffee. He couldn't think of anything to say back. Dean smiled to himself.

-

Dean went to sleep that night, and felt scantily clad, despite the fact he was wearing a shirt and boxers. If Castiel was going to come back again that night, Dean wanted to be as covered as possible. He didn't really know why it was so important. Maybe... he liked the idea of Castiel looking at him. And maybe that made him a little nervous.

He had more nightmares, and whimpered, cried out even. Castiel returned.

He touched Dean's forehead with one hand, fingers carding into the hair above it. His eyes glowed blue again, and this time Dean opened his eyes and looked at Castiel. "Cas," He whispered. His breaths got heavier as the blissful feeling spread throughout his body, like it did before, except now it was more intense. He curled in on himself, not out of fear but... something else. "Why... why are you doing this?"

Castiel tried to lift his hand away but Dean caught it. He didn't want to lose the contact, but really only caught the sleeve and lost it anyway. "My apologies, Dean," He said quietly.

"Please don't leave," Dean said quickly.

Castiel simply sat down on the edge of the mattress. Dean was clutching at his wrist, but had lost the skin contact he wanted. Castiel seemed to realize this, and returned his hand to Dean's face, this time resting it on the side, on Dean's cheek. "What would you like me to do, Dean?"

Dean didn't answer, and simply leaned into Castiel's touch. The feeling got more intense, and Dean looked up at the angel. "Please don't leave."

"I won't."

"What are you doing to me?" Dean had to whisper, anything louder and he was scared he'd moan. The thing that really scared him is that he didn't mind moaning, even though this was his friend, and a man, too.

"Trying to give you peace," Castiel pressed, and pried Dean's hand off his wrist. Dean let go, only to clamp down on Castiel's free hand.

As he suspected, the feeling got even more intense until Dean couldn't take it anymore and turned away. Not that he wanted to, but he was sure that Castiel could see he was enjoying it too much. Dean hid his face with one hand, and tried to think of anything other than hot women and Castiel's hands. It didn't work.

"Cas," he said quietly, now with his back to the angel. "Please tell me you know what you've been doing."

"How do you mean?"

Dean looked back at the angel, who had tilted his head in confusion. "You've gotta be kidding me," He said.

Castiel glanced away and shook his head. "I'm not making a joke."

Dean's eyebrows creased together and he glanced around, not really wanting to say it, but realizing he had to. "Do you not understand how good that feels?"

Castiel's eyes widened slowly. "So you  _ could _ feel that."

"What the hell else was I supposed to be feeling?" Dean whisper-yelled it, because Sam was just beyond Castiel, thankfully still asleep.

Castiel bowed his head and blushed faintly. "It wasn't my intention to... I didn't mean to do that."

"What were you even doing?" Dean clutched at Castiel's hand again, and that feeling came back. "Tell me, Cas." Castiel just pried Dean's hand off, then vanished. Dean shook his head and shifted to get comfortable in the bed again. "Coward."

-

Dean slept soundly the next few nights, which he was grateful for, but he missed Castiel. He missed the company, even though Castiel never really said much, it was nice to be around him. And he missed that touch, and that feeling that he couldn't quite place what it felt like. All he knew is that it made him feel... good.

Dean was sitting in a chair in the motel room, resting his palms face up on his thighs and staring at them. He pressed his lips into a thin line and stared, full of concentration.

"What are you staring at?" Sam sat down in the chair next to Dean's.

Dean looked up at his brother. "What? Nothing."

"Alright, don't strain yourself," Sam chuckled. "Have you seen Cas around lately?"

Dean flinched lightly at the angel's name and his eyes darted around across the floor. "No, I haven't," He replied honestly, but couldn't quite meet Sam's eyes.

"What's been going on with you and him?"

At this Dean did meet Sam's eyes. He licked his lips lightly. "Would you believe me if I said I didn't know?"

Sam nodded ever so slightly, and kept his mouth closed. They had a silent conversation, where Sam tried to let Dean know this was a safe place to talk, and Dean rolled his eyes, like he was going to talk about something like  _ that _ with his brother. When that failed, Sam took in a deep breath. "Dean, you know you can talk to me --"

"I'm gonna stop you right there," Dean said firmly.

"You don't need to feel ashamed or whatever, Dean. I'm here for you, and if you want to talk --"

"I don't. Shut up about it."

"Fine. Are you hungry?"

"Yeah, actually," Dean let his anger roll off him a bit, and he went back to staring at his hands. He could still feel Castiel's fingertips trailing across his palms. "I'll find us a case or something while you're out."

"Alright, fine," Sam stood and left the motel.

When Dean was alone, he laid down on his bed and tried to take a nap. His logic was, if he fell asleep, maybe he'd have a nightmare, and Castiel would come back. He couldn't sleep though, so he sat up and stared at his hands some more. "Cas, please, can you come back? I don't -- you were going to say something before, but you just vanished..." He looked around, hoping he wouldn't have to continue. He held his face in his hands. "Just please come back."

He heard the flutter of wings and looked up to see Castiel standing before him. "Hello, Dean."

Dean stood and threw his arms around the angel, and hugged him tightly. "I missed you," He said quietly. Then he realized how girly he was being and pulled away. "I'm sorry," He said sheepishly.

Castiel seemed to relax visibly, and he gently touched the side of Dean's face. "I missed you, too," He replied. The warm feeling spread throughout Dean's body again, and he felt the need to sit down. Castiel noticed this and sat Dean down on the bed, moving to sit next to him. "I'm sorry I was away."

Dean nodded in acknowledgment, and there was a brief moment of silence. "So, Cas," Dean said after a while. "Are you going to tell me now?"

Castiel looked at Dean and nodded. He lifted the sleeve on Dean's left arm, and fitted his hand onto the scar there. "This scar," He looked at his hand on Dean's shoulder, and Dean tried to pay attention but the blissful feeling was almost overwhelming. "This is what bonds us. I rescued you, and left my mark on your soul. I left it here." He gently squeezed Dean's shoulder, and his eyes practically drooped in pleasure.

Dean got ahold of himself and grabbed Castiel's wrist again. "Why does it...  _ feel _ this way?" He asked, his breaths getting slightly heavier. "It's not that I don't... appreciate it, I just don't understand."

"Like I said," Castiel pressed. "I left my mark on you."

Dean was sort of confused still. The feeling grew more intense, and he had to pull Castiel's hand off. He rubbed his eyes, trying to clear his head. "You mean like how... I dunno, like how cupids mark couples?"

"If it helps you to think like that, then yes," Castiel smiled faintly.

Dean's face flushed and he broke the eye contact. "Does that mean --"

Castiel sighed. "In the human sense, it means I have feelings for you." He touched Dean's bare arm again, igniting the feeling in Dean's stomach. "This --  _ this _ is how you feel it."

Dean's lips parted and he wanted to say something, but when he tried to think, he couldn't. Instead, he pulled Castiel close again, holding his face, and kissed him. Castiel didn't resist or pull away, and even kissed back, leaning in and pulling Dean close.

Dean felt warm, and blissful, and pulled Castiel onto his lap. He kissed Castiel soundly, trying to reciprocate that feeling. It was when Castiel broke the kiss to move to Dean's neck that Dean asked, "How do you feel it, Cas?" He gasped a little when Castiel's tongue brought a whole new intense version of the feeling.

"I'll show you," Dean looked into Castiel's eyes and saw a hungry look, something Dean saw, comprehended, then immediately decided he needed it closer.

"Show me."

-

Sam came back to the motel room about half an hour later with burgers.

He did a double take when he walked in. Dean was asleep in his bed, shirtless and covered from the waist down by a sheet. That part wasn't surprising. What was, though, was Castiel laying behind Dean, hugging him to his chest, with his hand on top of the scar on Dean's left shoulder.

Sam noticed Castiel's clothes in a heap on the floor next to Dean's, and decided to eat outside.

When he went back inside later on, Dean and Castiel were clothed once again, with small smiles on their faces. He noticed their hands linked between them.

From context clues he could figure out what had happened, but you know what, he didn't rub it in Dean's face. He saw the way his older brother looked at the angel, and he decided this was something to be protected.

The profound bond, sealed with a handprint.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed! I do have a part two that will go up later on. 
> 
> Today I turned 18 and this is my favorite of my recent fics so I thought I'd post it.


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